Lots of Ways to be Brave

Franklin Graham posted today: "Caitlyn Jenner is being honored with the ESPN ESPY Award for courage? I find this hard to swallow after spending time with wounded military veterans and their spouses...they are true heroes."

My response was as follows:

"People who come out (as same gender loving, gender non-conforming or transgender) in a hostile environment (such as the one evangelical churches have created) are courageous.
People who train for the Olympics are courageous (Caitlyn is already brave on two fronts).
People who are first responders are courageous.
Soldiers, sailors and Air Force personnel are courageous.
Single moms are courageous.
Social justice Activists are courageous.
One example of courage doesn't negate others. Of course wounded veterans are courageous, and so are others for other reasons.
A sports network is honoring an accomplished athlete...it took a real act of pettiness on FG's part to try to warp that into a controversy.
The constant vilification of everyone who doesn't look like a Leave It to Beaver character is making religion seem mean-spirited and irrelevant.
As a Progressive Christian I affirm the sacred value of transgender people, but more importantly, as a human being I reject that religion's purpose (or the purpose of any social institution) is to demonize or dehumanize or marginalize anyone..." - Durrell Watkins